


New Habit

by Dark_Sun_Morrigan



Category: Shadowrun
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Drug Use, Fantastic Racism, Gen, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-05 07:27:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18361391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark_Sun_Morrigan/pseuds/Dark_Sun_Morrigan
Summary: The side benefits of a run have far reaching effects on the life of Burnout, a runner with a past and present history of addiction. (Also posted to Royal Road via my account there;  Dark Sun Morrigan)





	1. Chapter 1

  
I adjusted the tie on my suit and continued to walk through the stark white corridors of the Seattle HQ of Evo Corp, making sure to look as though I belonged here like any other wageslave. I caught my reflection in one of the various mirrored windows and momentarily marvelled at what Rigoberto, an old friend of mine and cut rate street doc, could do with a few hours and a decent reference. My face looked just like that poor bastard we picked up when he was getting his morning Soykaf. I cracked a slight smile as I remembered the look he had when Dust caught him with a haymaker and we tossed his stunned ass into the van. 

After winding my way through the labyrinthine office section of the fortieth floor I found what I was looking for; a secure freight elevator to the basement labs. I pulled out the key card that Trix had cooked up for me and ran it through the reader. The little device chirped and a set of locks clicked open as a pane of bulletproof glass several inches thick slid down granting me access. I stepped in and pressed the button that would send me down to the labs. The glass pane slid back up and a moment later the lift began descending.

 

I ran through what I had to do once I was there; set up a backdoor to their network so our client could clean out their data banks and then do a quick smash and grab on whatever I wanted down there; followed by escaping through an adjacent garage. I hoped that Dust actually set the demo charges right this time. I felt a bit twitchy, not from the danger. That was normal, familiar. No, what had me going was withdrawal. Drug of the month was Bliss and unlike Kamikaze or Nitro I sure as drek wasn't gonna be on it during a run.

 

Eventually the lift reached its destination, letting me out at a vacant security checkpoint. I let out a sigh of relief, no damn Knight Errant goons down here. 

 

I cracked my neck. “I wonder where all the Pawns went?”

 

Near the entrance to the labs was another little reader. I took the card out and slid it through. 

 

Chirp. 

 

Beep. 

 

Click. 

 

The doors parted and I was in an Evo Corp lab. Men and women in lab coats scurried between various work stations and seemed to pay me no mind as I walked right past them to a terminal, slotted Trix's program and stepped away. 

 

My burner pinged in my pocket and I got a little message from Trix. “All clear, chummer. Your pick up should be there in five minutes. Bring me back something nice, yea?”

 

I rolled my eyes. “Yea sure, Trix, something nice.” 

 

I put the burner back in my pocket, turned and walked through the labs towards the wall was adjacent to the garage where Dust had her charges set. She better have had the charges set. As I got closer I figured out where the Pawns had went. 

 

“Drek.”

 

The whole lab security force was down here watching some sort of presentation. A female researcher slapped a patch on her arm and gestured for one of the guards to try and grab her. He approached and she flipped him over her shoulder, armor and all with not even a lick of magic or cyberware. That was when I knew exactly what I was gonna take on my way out. 

 

I pulled my burner back out and sent a message to Dust. “Blow the wall. You'll like it, I promise.”

 

A moment later as the guards filed out, the wall behind them blew up. I felt everything slow down as my adrenal pump kicked on. I rushed forward, blades emerging from my forearms and gutted one of the still breathing Pawns. The sound of his gun going off as it fell from his hands mingled with his choking and the scream of my blades pushing through his combat armor. He slid off in a heap as my vision switched to thermal to see through the smoke. I saw one getting up and slashed through the back of his neck. Another raised his gun towards me and fired. Lances of heat marked the passing of his rounds as I closed and eviscerated him. Hot blood sprayed onto me. It was intoxicating, as good a high as anything else, or maybe that was my skill wires firing off inside my brain. I didn’t care either way. 

 

Bang!

 

A bullet went through my left shoulder. That arm went limp. I didn’t feel any pain. I turned to see a pair of them, one on a radio and the other with their gun leveled at me. He fired and I charged at him, left arm completely useless. Several more rounds found their mark, they felt like little more than light jabs. He screamed as I buried my blade in his face. 

 

The remaining Pawn fell to the floor.  “K-knight Errant number 648- ah, oh god!” The Pawn started to back up against the wall.

 

“Cut the radio or I geek you like the rest of your squad.” I growled as my hand twitched from the adrenal overload.

 

He set the radio down and put his hands on the floor. “Smart choice.” I stepped on the radio, crushing it.

 

I turned from them and scanned the room. A large heat signature stepped into the rubble strewn lab. My thermals flickered off and my regular vision returned. The signature had been Dust, a fomori troll and the best damn demolitions expert I’ve ever known, when she wasn’t busy doing something with the damn van. 

 

She cracked a smile. “How many of these are yours and how many are mine?” She put a booted foot on the back one of the corpses. 

 

“Ha, don’t ack-” I coughed up a bit of blood. “Don’t really know, Dust.” 

 

She walked over, I heard bones snap under her. “You don’t look so good, Burnout. I should get your ass back to the van before you bleed out on me.”

 

I waved her away with my good arm. “I’m fine, really. I’ve just gotta, gotta get something.” 

 

Dust rolled her eyes. “You’re not allowed to die, you still owe me.” 

 

I walked past her and over the bodies. I needed to grab that patch they were testing. Inside the room were the scientists all huddled in a corner. 

 

“I need what you folks were working on.” I briefly thought about how I looked. “I’m not here to kill any of you, but I won’t hesitate if you try anything funny. So, the patches?”

 

Most of them pressed further away, but one stood up. The woman from the test. I brought my blade up.

 

“That won’t be necessary.” She walked past me towards another section of the lab. 

 

I lowered my blade and followed her. “That’s it, not even a slight struggle?”

 

She pulled out a set of keys from her coat. “Did you want one?” 

 

I chuckled then winced as I felt something move inside my torso. “I like you. Don’t really care to make a wageslave’s life worse, so no, I was just expecting one.” 

 

The locker opened and she took out a whole container of the patches. “Experiment 113, the suits want to call it Banshee.” She offered it to me.

 

I took the container and put it under my good arm. “Just like that?”   
  
She smirked. “Just like that, besides, the street will be a much better testing ground than the lab. My card is in with the patches, call me at some point.” She must have seen the doubt on my face. “Hey, there’s no reason for me to make a SINless’ life harder.”

 

I sighed. “You have a point.” I turned and began walking back towards Dust. “Thanks for the stuff, I’m getting out of here.” 

 

“Till next time.” I could almost hear her smirking.

 

I walked through the lab, past the huddle scientists then got about two steps out before I passed out from the blood loss. I could hear Dust running over and yelling as my vision clicked off. 


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up some time later. My eyes were turned off and I couldn’t move my body. This wasn’t anything particularly new, happened every time I had to go under for new augments or some extensive maintenance. There was also a big clue. Music was playing and I could hear that Rigoberto was mumbling along.

“Ah! You are awake, I see.” He clapped his hands together. “What did you get into this time?” 

I tried to respond, nope, body was non-responsive so all that came out was a soft “Hhhh”

“See, I forgot. One moment.” He stepped away. “Eh, you can stay still while I finish up, right?”

I made another sound, trying as best I could to make it sound like I was saying yes. 

“Good, good. Okay and…” I heard several switches click and my sight and sensation returned. “There we are, chummer.”

I winced. “Hey, doc. Guess I was pretty messed up?” 

“With your pain dampeners on you probably didn’t notice all the bullets riddling your body. You even damaged that shoulder joint we replaced last time!” 

I laughed and immediately regretted it. “Hurts to laugh. Maybe turn the dampeners back on?”

Rigoberto leaned over and looked me in the eyes. “Haha, no can do. We’re going to reattach some delicate parts, I need you feeling.”

“Please?” I tried to look as convincing as I could.

He scowled, his worry worn face twisting under the surgical mask he had on. “No, you want the synth muscle to react correctly or rip itself and you apart? Your choice.”

“Fine, no dampeners then.” I grit my teeth.

The street doc reconnected my nerve endings to my artificial musculature sending fresh, hot agony straight into my brain. Luckily, my motor control was still limited so I wasn’t able to act on it aside from emit a small muffled scream.

“You know, Burnout. There’s going to come a point that I can’t put you back together.” He pushed the new shoulder joint together, I winced. “I’ve come to like you, you pay on time. That keeps food in my family’s bellies.”

“A little heavy on the bedside manner there, Doc. I’ll be fine, always have been.” I tried to smile, but it came out as a grimace.

“You know that’s not true.” He went to close up my shoulder. “Remember when Trix found you on those BTLs? It’s a miracle your brain even works half as well as it does.”

Better Than Life chips, slot them into a datajack and live in a world that doesn’t suck. Sounds great until it fries your brain, but at least you get to die happy. That is, if you can keep yourself with a supply to slot. I’d been a lot younger, I wasn’t always without a System Identification Number and I’d gotten hooked on the things. Did a lot of stuff I regret trying to get more and eventually became a runner when Trix got me off them. 

“That, that was a long time ago.” I sighed. “I’m fine.” 

He finished stitching me up and stepped away. “Don’t move. I need to get something.”

“Got ya.”

I heard something open.

“It’s Bliss this month, Burnout?” 

“Yea, if I keep cycling them and I’ll be okay. No issue.” I frowned.

“And what’s the new stuff?” He returned holding a patch of the Banshee in front of my face. 

“Just uh, some stuff that fell off the back of an Evo Corp truck. Was gonna try it tonight.” I smiled awkwardly

He sighed. “At least you aren’t going to get back on the BTLs.” He removed my restraints and tilted the surgery table up. “Just be safe, Burnout and don’t worry about payment, Dust covered you for this one.”

I stepped off the table and turned to him. “You know me, I’ll be just fine.” I placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Burnout, please. I am being serious.” Rigoberto pulled my hand off his shoulder. “Be careful for once in your life, kid.” He pulled me into a hug.

I hugged him back. I’d forgotten that he’d had a kid who’d be about my age if it wasn’t for... BTLs. Hell, I might have known him if I wasn’t… elsewhere at the time. 

“Rigoberto, I’ll try to be. The job is dangerous, but I’ll try to stay safe.” I broke off the hug. “I should get going, did Dust say she’d be back at the garage?”

“Yea, good luck out there, Burnout.” He handed me back my container of Banshee.

I waved back to him as I stepped out into downtown Seattle. I walked through the rain slick streets trying just get to Dust’s garage as fast as possible. It didn’t take too long since the rain kept a lot of the tourists and consumers off the street. The garage was down a side alley and relatively non-descript aside from the celtic knot Dust had spray painted on the door. However, at the moment the garage was open and Dust was halfway underneath the van working. 

I knocked on the side of the van. “Yo, Dust. Back from the doc's.”

She pushed herself out from under the van and stood up. “Don't you ever worry me like that again or I'll kill you myself!” She hugged me tightly.

I hugged back. “My face is in your chest, Dust.”

She squeezed hard enough that my joints creaked. “Don't care.”

“H-hey, lighten up a bit, you're gonna open my stitches.”

She loosened, but didn't let go. “I'm serious, I'm glad we didn't lose you.” She let me go. “Now. I gotta finish making sure our brakes work and you gotta talk to Trix.”

I smiled at her as best I could. “For sure, Dust. Thanks for the assist.”

Dust was already getting back under the van and stuck out a thumbs up. She loved that damn van and to be honest it had grown on me, even the airbrushed nude wizard on a giant white tiger. The armor and mounted gun turret also helped. I opened the door to the rest of the apartment. It was a mess, as usual. 

Trix looked up and waved. “Hey, Burnout! Glad to see you're walking around so quickly.” She placed her work to side on the couch. “Got you some fried rice with real egg.”

With the world as it was real products were rarer and more expensive. Hell, getting a cup of actual coffee and not soykaf could run you as much as four or five times the price. 

I blinked at her. “Where the hell did you find real egg?”

She grabbed the styrofoam box and pressed it into my hands. “Little China, know a guy who knows a guy. The usual.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You don't know people, Trix.” 

She pulled out her phone and shoved it in my face. “Yea I know people, see?!”

The list of contacts was almost entirely dominated by names of people from an MMO she played.

I rolled my eyes and popped open the box. “I'll be damned, that is either real egg or an imitation so good it might cost just as much.”

“Yea, turns out Klot is related to this old lady that has actual live chickens. Only reason she isn't raking in the cash is the health and safety board. They gave her a C! Can you believe that?”

“I can, but there's worse ways to die and this smells great. Thanks, Trix.” I shut the box. 

She flopped back down on the couch. “Backdoor is running great, by the way.”

I headed towards the stairs. “And your access?” 

She waved a hand at me. “Yea, got a route for myself piggybacked onto it and I can even see whatever they're looking at too.” Her fingers danced across her cyberdeck. “They're looking into experiment 113 and 112… anyway, go eat, Burnout.”

I waved to her as I took the stairs up to the bedrooms, mine was the last on the left. I opened the door and stepped inside before closing it. The interior was messy, but organized. Clothes went in two piles; clean and dirty. Trash was kept neatly adjacent to the trash can and my mattress was in a state that I fondly referred to as sleepable. 

I kicked off my shoes, took my shirt off and placed the container of Banshee on the floor before settling in to eat. It was amazing. Most folks only ever get soy stand ins with vat grown meat, this was neither of those. This was real egg with the vegetables and rice, it was truly heavenly. I'd need to thank Trix properly later. 

Time passed as the hour grew long. I was, to put it lightly, jonesing. However, when I went to check my stash of Bliss, it was missing with a note saying Dust had sold it for my doc visit.

I closed the drawer with a hiss. “Okay, was going to try the new stuff anyway.” 

I opened the container and took out a patch. It was thicker than even the kamikaze I used to take and had small needles on the underside. 

I regarded it for a moment. “Eh, screw it.” I slapped it onto my upper arm. “Ooh, fuuuck... that burns.”

It felt like fire running through my veins. I fell back onto the bed and thrashed as the burning spread and then subsided. I was suddenly very cold and hyper aware of the feel of my mattress and the scattered blankets on my body. My skin turned to gooseflesh and I began shivering. 

“T-this might have been a, a mistake.”

My teeth chattered and I pulled myself up into a ball trying to get warm. I stayed like that for a moment and then the pain and the cold faded leaving me with nothing save my own exhaustion. My eyes fluttered and consciousness left me.


	3. Chapter 3

My dreams were unusually vivid. Normally there was nothing but peaceful oblivion when sleep came for me. The dreams were good, too good. They reminded me of my time on BTLs, right down to the subject matter too.

When I woke up I found a blanket had been placed over me. 

I smiled. “Trix is still looking out for me”

Before tossing off the blanket I checked the datajack near my right ear, nothing. I sighed in relief. It was an irrational fear, but I'd not touched a cal-hot or even a regular simsense chip in the years since Dust and Trix got me out of that hole and I was never going back down that road. 

I traced the edge of my jack. “Still… those dreams were so.” I shook my head. “Better to just not think about it.”

I stood up and stretched before I opened my curtains letting in the dull light of another overcast Seattle morning in. My eyes switched back from low light and as they did my vision filled with color. The view out my window wasn't much, it looked out at a place in the downtown area where people actually lived. It wasn't pretty by the definitions of the folks with money, but I'd take the wrecks filled with life any day over the sterile hell that seemed to dominate the affluent areas. 

I turned my back on the view and went to see if the bathroom was available. It was not, in fact there was already a line. 

Trix leaned against a wall next to the door. “Mornin’, Burnout. You're uh, lookin’ real good for someone who was riddled with bullets yesterday.” 

I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “You know Rigoberto does good work.”

“He does good work, but there's no scars at all.” Her face scrunched up. “Is that artificial skin?” She pressed a finger against my bare chest.

“No? What?” I gave her a look of genuine confusion.

Dust opened the door and our focus switched to her. She stepped out of the bathroom, she had to bow her head to catch her horns on the door frame. She had a towel on over her shoulders and a pair of boxers. 

For a moment she regarded us. “Hey.” 

Silence hung in the air. 

“You look good, Dust.” Trix said and darted into the bathroom.

“I know. Bathroom's free… was free.” She placed a large blue hand on my head and mussed my hair. “Dunno how you're growing it this fast, but it's a good look on you.”

“Euh? You too.”

Dust leaned down to look at me eye to eye. “You sure there isn’t a bullet rattling around your brainpan, Burnout?”

I shook my head.

“I thought I heard something rattling in there, do it again.” She cupped a hand to her ear. 

The bathroom door slammed open and Trix just about skidded as she took the turn down the stairs. 

Dust blinked. “She late for something?” 

“Probably.” 

She straightened up as best she could and started to walk down the hall. “See you later, Burnout.” She waved back at me.

“Yea, see you soon.” I called back as I entered the bathroom. 

It was surprisingly intact for having just weathered Trix. Toothbrushes not on the floor, hand towel in some facsimile of rehung and the faucet was even off. I took a towel and finished wiping the fog off the mirror. Judging from my reflection Trix wasn’t just messing with me. I had no scars. Not just no new ones, but none of my old ones. I twisted in the mirror to see my back too, there was just nothing but smooth skin. A thought hit me as I was checking my body. 

My hand went to my arm, where the patch should be. “Where the hell is it?”

I stepped back out into the hall then into my bedroom. I flicked the light on and looked for the patch. Maybe it had fallen off in my sleep. I tore through my bed and even looked through my trash. It wasn’t there. The container of the rest of the patches was, but not the one I’d used. It was mildly distressing, but I shook it off and headed back to go take a shower. I needed to get all the sweat from last night off me. 

I kicked my jeans off and stepped into the shower. I turned the hot water knob and it came out freezing cold.I grit my teeth. When Dust got in first there usually wasn’t much of the hot water left. It wasn’t that she used a ton. It was more our water heater was barely functional drek. Once I was satisfied I had done what I could I stepped out and dried myself off. I would have shaved next, but I must’ve done it or maybe Rigoberto had taken care of that for me when he fixed me up.

It didn’t matter. Today was a day off and more importantly payday. I went back to my room wearing a towel and carrying my pants. I chucked them in the dirty pile and picked up a wrinkled t shirt, some underwear and a pair of jeans from the clean one. They felt a little off when I put them on, but I just chalked that up to the after effects of the Banshee. As I left my room for the day I grabbed my old denim jacket and slung it on. 

When I got downstairs Trix was already on the couch and presumably busy with her friends on whatever game they were currently obsessed with. 

She looked up at me and tossed a credstick at me. “Your cut from the Evo job, looks like Jesse actually got the nuyen out of our employer.” 

“It really all here?” I slotted it into my phone then whistled. “Thanks Trix.”

She waved a hand at me without looking up from one of the screens she’d set up on the coffee table. “Don’t thank me yet, Jesse wants to see you specifically. Didn’t tell me why.”

“The usual place, I assume?” 

“Yea, he says to bring some food for his friends.” She returned to her game.

Jesse was our fixer, he was a liaison between us and the various Mr. Johnsons that had jobs they needed done. He was great at his work and he'd even got our money from Shiawase when things went sideways on a run. Jesse was also a shaman, specifically a rat shaman. 

I walked over to the kitchen and checked the fridge. There was drek all save Trix’s energy drinks and several near empty takeout boxes. When I checked them none of them seemed safe, even for Jesse’s friends, so I tossed them in the garbage. I decided to check in with Dust before heading out to meet Jesse.

As I stepped into the the garage I waved my free hand. “Yo, Dust! I’m headed out for awhile, anything you want me to pick up?” 

She looked up from a weapon’s catalogue. “Any chance you can find one of these lying around?” Dust turned the catalogue towards me and pointed at a heavy duty vehicle laser.

I raised a brow at her. “Yea, sure. Does it have to be the Ares model?” 

“Nah, even a Winter Systems will do, just find one and I’ll get it set up on the van.” She waved a hand at me. “Burnout, just get me some tea from Jing-Sheng, I’m running out.” 

“Sure thing, Dust.” I turned to leave.

She hugged me from behind. “Be safe, okay?” 

I tensed for a moment, then relaxed. “I’m going to be fine, I always am.”

She let go. “Yea, I know.” 

I walked to the door to the alley and opened it. “Thanks, Dust.”


	4. Chapter 4

Outside of our home it was gloomy like it often was in Seattle, but the rain was still up in dark clouds overhead. A gust blew down the alley tossing the lighter bits of garbage around. I turned away from home and headed towards the street. It was early, but not so early as to still be clogged with wageslaves on their way to their corporate jobs. The street was only lightly populated by those with either too much or too little, the former not even recognizing the latter.

As I approached the nearest subway entrance I saw flashing lights, imposing cars and goons in uniform. Lone Star, what happens when cops go for profit. They were all over the UCAS and after a brief lapse in contract they were back here in Seattle and in force from the looks of their damn patrol cars.

As I got closer I felt sweat bead on my forehead. There were three Stars, two humans and an ork. The ork had an elven woman in cuffs while the two humans examined a dead human male. He had a tear across his midsection, jagged and deep, but that’s not what caught my eye. What really stood out was the Humanis tattoo on his neck. I looked back over to the elf, she was shaking. Her face and neck had bruises that were beginning to bloom. The picture of what happened here began to come together and it wasn’t pretty. What’s worse is what I saw on the neck of the older of the two, the same tattoo.

While the two human officers were examining the body and dealing with other observers I got as close as I could to the ork. He appeared in his early 20s and aside from the standard uniform he wore reflective sunglasses.

I looked at his badge. “Officer Hopper, may I speak with you?”

Hopper placed the woman into the patrol car and closed the door. “What do you need? You do know this is a crime scene?”

I nodded. “Yes I do, but I also noticed the victim was a member of the Humanis Policlub.”

Hopper’s face scrunched up at that. “He’s dead and she killed him, what difference does it make?”

“Remember what was on the trids a couple weeks ago?”

“No, don’t watch that trash.”

I stared directly at the reflective glass covering his eyes. “Dead metahumans found in a shipping container and on the inside the logo of the policlub spray painted on the door.”

He shifted. “It’s my job. I can’t just.”

“You can’t just what, Officer Hopper?” I leaned in towards him.

“She still killed a man, I can’t.”

“Look at the neck of your colleague, the one with grey hair.” I pointed over to him.

He turned and the color seemed to drain out of his face. “I…”

“I’ll make this easy on you.”

I kicked on my adrenal pump.

Everything slowed down.

Hopper’s face contorted as my fist impacted his jaw. As he was falling I whirled around, one of my forearm blade deploying. I thrust it through the locking mechanism on the patrol car door then ripped it open.

I grabbed the cuffs the woman inside was bound by. “Don’t move yet.” I cut through the chain. “Run.”

She nodded and ran out across the street. The other officers noticed what had happened. Grey hair already had his gun leveled and was taking aim. I dashed. He fired. A moment later I lifted him into the air by his midsection, my blades erupting from his back. The crowd screamed and dispersed as the remaining officer was fumbling for his comm. I slid out of grey hair, withdrawing my blades and clocked the other officer across his face. He spun and fell flat onto the concrete.

Scanning the crowd I noticed one of them was on their phone. They could have been calling in what just happened and I wasn’t going to take a chance, I began a dead sprint down into the subway terminal and hopped over the turnstiles setting off their alarms. I pressed through the crowd of people waiting on the subway and onto the service pathway. I ran until I was sure I wasn’t being actively followed. Then used my secure line to contact Trix.

“Hey, uh” I panted “Trix, I need a map of the Subway system with service exits.”

I heard her slap her forehead. “You what, Burnout?”

“Look, I had to.” I kept walking down the tunnel.

She hissed. “Had to what?”

I clicked my tongue. “There’s a dead Star near the subway and I’m getting blamed for it, so I’m in the service tunnels and could really use a map.”

“Sure, not your fault. Gimme a minute.” I heard the click and clatter of her deck. “Got one, be careful, okay?”  
“I’ll be fine, probably just a little late, tell Jesse for me.” My phone buzzed.

“Fine, but this mess better not show up at our doorstep.”

“It won’t, no one got a good look at me.” I rubbed my chin.

“Be safe, Burnout.”

“I’ll be fine.” I hung up and opened the map Trix had sent me.

The plan was to get out relatively quickly before any Lone Star drones swept the subway system. According to the map there was an exit a couple miles away that let out near Jing-sheng’s place.

I bit my thumb. “That should be far enough.”

I took note of the number assigned to that exit and began to run along the service walkway. The tunnel was dark and the only illumination was from dim orange runner lights. As I was running the tunnel began to shake. A train was coming through. I sprinted to a nearby alcove and tried to press myself into a corner. The train roared by and as it passed I could feel its wake trying to pull me towards the tracks, it would have succeeded if not for the hand that pulled me back.

I whirled around and deployed my arm blades.”Who the-” I saw only darkness. “Where are you?!”

My thermal vision kicked on. There was something in the darkness, barely any heat. It held up a hand and spoke in a raspy, almost wet sounding voice.

“Hold on! My name is Trevor, please don't kill me!”

I lowered one blade and turned on my phone light while switching back to standard vision In front of me was a man in dirty clothing. His skin was mottled and had blisters in some places. I examined his face; elongated teeth, a clouded eye and one clearly artificial one. This man was a Ghoul, a victim of the Krieger Strain of the Human Meta-Human Vampiric Virus (HMHVV).

He put both hands up in front of himself. “I’m not feral! I just didn’t want to see someone get sucked under the train.”

I kept my eyes locked on his hands and mouth. “Do you have a food source? Where are you getting it, Trevor?”

Those with HMHVV need to consume flesh or blood in most cases. If Trevor was to be trusted I needed to make sure I wasn’t about to be a meal.  
“There’s a street doc topside that gets me food.” His eyes cast downward and his shoulders slumped.

“You haven’t been a ghoul long, have you?”

Trevor shook his head. “No, been about a year.” He shifted uncomfortably. “Can you please lower those?”

“I’m going to trust you here, Trevor. Please don’t make me regret it.” I withdrew my blades back into my forearms.

He sighed. “Thank you, I know you have no reason to trust me.” He shifted slightly and grabbed his arm. “What are you doing down here…?”

“Burnout. It’s better you don’t know exactly why I’m down here.”

Trevor pointed at my torso. “The blood is a pretty big clue.”

I inhaled sharply. “I uh, forgot about that.”

Trevor suddenly looked to his left “Get in here!”

He pulled me into the crack in the wall he was standing in. “Whoa, hey!”

Trevor tugged on my arm and led me deeper away from the subway tunnel. “Drone engines coming, hurry up.”

He was right, I could hear them too as they got closer. I stopped resisting and followed him deeper through a series of fractures in the concrete and into a small room that was furnished with a couple chairs and a dirty mattress. It was lit by a single hanging bulb spliced into the city powerlines. On almost every wall were sketches of Seattle and random people. There was another doorway that led towards a darkened room.

Trevor waved an arm across the room. “So this is where I’ve lived since shortly after...” He gestured to his body. “This happened.”

“You noticed the drones before I did, they sweep the subways often?” I sat on one of the chairs.

“Not often, usually only when Lone Star or another group is looking for someone.” His artificial eye fixated on my bloody clothing.

“Yea, sorry about that.” I pointed to one of the sketches. “You do a lot of art? It's quite good.”

Trevor sat down on his mattress and propped himself against the wall. “I do, thanks and it’s no problem to have you here, really.” He pulled his legs up and placed his forehead against his knees. “It gets lonely.”

It definitely would, being a ghoul meant you were an outcast even by outcast standards. That’s without mentioning the ever looming threat of going feral… or being assumed feral and shot on sight. Memory of a job in the Redmond Barrens flashed through my mind accompanied by the roar of the van’s mounted gun and Dust screaming for me to get back inside. Ferals poured out of that flop house like a damn tide. The memory fell away as I looked back to Trevor in his dirty clothes, surrounded by sketches of a world he used to be a part of.

I stood up then sat down next to him. “Hey, mind telling me about some of them?”

He looked up and over to me. “Sure. I can do that. Any of them catch your eye?”

I looked over the sketches and their varied subjects. Humans and Metahumans engaged in daily activities, rain falling on downtown and a few portrait style sketches. I began to notice a few repeating subjects; a man in a heavy coat and a woman with kind, but tired eyes.

I pointed at the picture of the woman. “Can you tell me about that one?”

“That’s my mom.” He pulled his knees closer.

“Hey, I’m-” I reached out towards him

 

“No, no. It’s alright.” Trevor swallowed hard. “And you shouldn’t touch me, I don’t want you getting infected.” I withdrew my hand “She never saw me like this…” He looked at his hand. “Mom died a few years ago, back when the Prop 23 killings and riots happened. She worked under Attorney Beatty.”

I was mostly chipped out back then, but I got the summary from Trix after she got me off the BTLs. Back in 2074 David Beatty and his staff as well as several others pushing for the Ork Underground to be recognized as a full district were killed and the Underground itself attacked with sections of it being destroyed.

“I’m sorry, Trevor.”

“There’s not much to be done about it.” He sighed. “When I first started to turn I was terrified. Ghouls were always just monsters to me, mindless things. My friend up topside, the street doc, he told me that supposedly the more active you keep your mind the less likely or longer it takes to go feral.” I swept his hand over the drawings. “This is one of the ways I keep myself from slipping and if I was to start to decline I wanted to at least remember her face.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

He looked over to me. “You don’t have to say anything, just having another person down here is nice. Actually, why don’t you tell me about yourself, Burnout?”

My gaze rose up and fixed the bulb hanging from the ceiling. “I guess I owe you that.” I blew out a breath that puffed my cheeks. “I was a chiphead for years. Started just into high school on cal-hots and by the time I would have graduated I was on full blown BTLs.”

Trevor whistled as best his lips would let him. “That’s... a few college friends ended up like that. I can see why you chose the name Burnout. So, how’d you get out?”

I bit my lip. “Bad memories. I was in a squat chipped outta my mind when it was hit by a pair of shadowrunners. One of them, an elf, pulled me out. I remember I clawed at her, begging her to let me go back, I told her I hated it here. The other runner, a troll, leveled a shotgun at me. She told me to back off.”

I took a moment to breathe.

“I pushed myself away from the gun barrel and into a corner. The elf, Trix, she told her partner to calm down. She said I was just another victim and not to hurt me. Trix knelt down and looked at me. My exact memories from then aren’t too reliable, but she told me I was emaciated and covered in filth. I remember her reaching a hand out, telling me she’d help me.”

Trevor spoke up. “So you run with the two of them now?”

“Yea, I do, I owe them both my life.”

I wasn’t being entirely honest with Trevor, I did have pretty clear memories of what happened back then. I was almost dead, all the others there were already gone, rotting. If it wasn’t for Trix and Dust… I’d have not made it much longer.

Trevor and I talked for a while longer about his drawing and some of the runs I’d been on. Once I was sure the drones had passed I stood up.

“Hey, Trevor what size do you wear?”

He got to his feet. “I think I’m a large? Why?”

“I’m gonna try and swing back here with some fresh clothes for you. It’s the least I can do for you saving my ass back there.” I smiled at him.

“Hah, you really don’t have to.” He placed a hand behind his head.

I looked him straight in the eye. “I want to.” I heard a subway train roar down the tunnel. “I’ve got to get going, best of luck, Trevor!”

“You too, Burnout.”


	5. Chapter 5

After parting ways with Trevor and marking his location on the map Trix had sent me I stepped back out into the subway tunnels. He had been good conversation and all things considered a wonderful host. I glanced back at the crack in the wall before sprinting towards my next destination. It was a few minutes of running until I reached the exit that would lead to Jing-sheng’s place. Catching my breath I wiped the sweat from my brow and looked up the ladder that led topside. I took a moment to check exactly where this was going to let me out, it was an alleyway a short walk from my destination. 

I climbed up and pushed the manhole aside before pulling myself out of the subway entirely. I was incredibly lucky that no one was there to see me, what with the blood, dried as it was, on my clothes. I heard a door open nearby and tensed up.

“Hold it right there, Burnout.” said a voice with a faint touch of a mandarin accent.

I instantly relaxed, I knew that voice. I turned to look at him as I straightened up. The man, Jing-sheng; was somewhere in his forties, with a receding hairline and eyes that seemed to dance like miniature flames. He was currently, however, in his ridiculous work robes leaning out into a dirty alley while waving for someone covered in blood to come inside of a building. 

He motioned more hurriedly. “Get in here, Burnout. I can’t have anyone calling the Star again.”

“On the way, Jing.” I scurried over and ducked inside behind him as he shut the door. “So how did you know I was coming?”

He looked at me and rubbed his chin. “I sensed you coming on the astral plane, you make a lot of waves you know.”

I drew my lips into a line and glared at him. “No, really.”

He rolled his eyes. “Dust called ahead and told me that you got in some trouble, happy? Killjoy. I did see you on the outdoor cameras, though.” Jing-sheng put a basin filled with water in front of me.“You should toss your shirt in here, get some of the blood out. Be right back, I'm going to close early.” 

I took my jacket and top off and placed the shirt in the basin to wash as Jing-sheng walked out a door to the front of his shop. It took some time to get a decent amount of blood out since it had partially dried on it. I wrung it out as best I could and put it back on. The still damp fabric was uncomfortable and still held a stain, at least I didn’t reek of blood anymore. 

Jing-sheng came back into the room holding a small jar. “Dust said you were here to pick up some of her usual tea.” He placed it on the table next to the basin.

I walked over and tapped on the lid. “So why exactly does she need to buy it from a talismonger like you? Something special in it?”

His eyes seemed to light up when I asked. “Yes actually, there’s quite a lot that goes into our friend’s tea. The assam leaves that make up the body of the tea come primarily from Tir Tairngire from the south of here and a small bit of powdered awakened irish false deathcap.”

“False deathcap?” I asked

“It’s like the real thing, but notably less toxic and adds a slight nutty flavor when brewed.” He smiled. “Want a cup?” 

The corner of my mouth twitched and I waved a hand. “No, I’m okay. Say, what’s got you closing up early? Not my fault, is it?”

Jing-sheng laughed. “No, I’ve got some contract work to get done.” His gaze focused on the basin. “What type of blood is that; ork, elf, human?”

I held a hand up. “Wait, why does that matter? Aren’t you just going to dump it?”

“I need some for a new spell I’m working on. So, what type of blood is it?” He tapped his foot.

“Isn’t that like, extremely illegal? This isn’t Aztlan.” 

“Yes and so is what you do. Now. What. Type. Of. Blood?” He pointed repeatedly at the basin.

I sighed. “It’s human, from a Lone Star officer with ties to Humanis.”

“Ah, a clear conscience for me and it’ll fuel the spell nicely.” He picked up the basin. “Unless you need something else, Burnout. You may go, I’ll be getting to work otherwise.”

I shook my head and Jing-sheng retreated up the nearby flight of stairs while carrying the basin full of bloody water. I had places to be so I stepped out into the alleyway and began walking towards Jesse's place. There were more people out now that it was closer to noon and while I got some strange looks, no one pulled me aside to ask about my oddly stained shirt. It was surprisingly easy to maneuver my way through the early part of the lunch rush and make it to the apartment block that Jesse lived in. 

The place was relatively nice considering it bordered a significantly rougher part of town. I stepped through a pair of glass doors and into a marble floored space with stairs and two wings of elevators that branched off to the either side. In the center was a wide desk for reception with a rather bored looking dwarf. 

She looked up from her tablet. “You again? You look different.”

“Y-yea, I’m here to see B-407.” I shifted and grabbed my wrist behind my back.

She squinted. “I’ll let the tenant know you’re coming.” She pressed a button then pulled her tablet back up. 

I nodded and took an elevator down to the fourth basement level. I got off the lift and scanned the hallway, it was poorly lit and had dull brown carpeting. Jesse’s door was at the end of one hall. 

I knocked on the door. “Hey Jesse, it’s Bur-” the door opened and he stuck his face out. “-nout.”

He grabbed me by the collar of my jacket and pulled me inside. “You’re late. Take a seat, I’ve got to make sure something is still in prime condition.”

Jesse stalked off towards the back of his apartment, leaving me in the living room/kitchen combo. The walls of the place had tracks and runners for his rats all over, but the rats were nowhere to be seen; not even the pair that stared at me every time I came here. He’d also managed to keep the place remarkably clean given all the rodents, they were smart, very smart. It all made sense though, given that they were his totem. I heard a door slam.

Jesse came back into the room and grinned, his intricately carved tusks adding a bit of extra menace. “They’re still good to go. Come on, I’ve got something to show you.” 

He led me through to the back of his apartment to a door, I could hear squeaking from the other side.

Jesse turned and leaned against the door facing me. “Remind me, Burnout, you ever see my handiwork?”

I scratched the back of my head. “I’ve seen your carvings, but nothing else aside from your work as a fixer.” 

“Well you’re about to, come on in.” He opened the door and pushed into the room.

The room was entirely pitch black. I walked in behind Jesse, I knew him well enough to trust him on this. My eyes tried to adjust to the lowlight. In the darkness I could see dozens of eyes reflecting the light from under a thin crack under the door. They spanned the floor, some were up at higher elevations and a single pair of emerald ones were right in front of me. A light clicked on revealing what I had suspected; all of his rats and a man tied to a steel chair. 

Jesse let go on the string attached to the single light bulb in the room. “This waste of meat and metal is a member of the Night Howlers, remember them?” He pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the bound man.

I scowled as memories flooded back. The Night Howlers were the ones that supplied the dealers I got most of my BTLs from back then. They’re one of the pair of notable anti-metahuman gangs in Seattle, the other being the Troll Killers. I knew them alright. 

My eyes narrowed. “Yea, I know the Howlers. What’s he doing down here?” 

Jesse took off his brown canvas jacket and hung it on a hook near the door. “I caught him sneaking around a friend’s place last night, I figured I’d have a little chat.” He walked over a small fridge and pulled out an autoinjector. “A little shot of adrenaline, he’s been out for a while. Let’s wake him up.”

I nodded. He walked over to the Howler, I followed. The guy looked to be in his late twenties, maybe early thirties, had a completely shaved head and plenty of gang ink on him. I noted the very obvious augments on his forearms. They were likely an older model in the line I had, though some of the internals were pulled out, probably by the rats. 

“Time to wake up.” Jesse pulled the Howler’s head to one side and jammed the shot into his neck. 

A short time later the Howler came to. “Where the fuck am I?!” He struggled against his bonds, eyes darting around until they settled on Jesse. “What type of shit is this, tusker?!”

Jesse’s upper lip twitched. “I don’t know, why don’t you tell me?”

The Howler’s face contorted in fury and I heard a mechanical whirring as he tried to deploy his blades. His left arm did nothing aside from click pathetically, but his right deployed the blade far too quickly and the entire augment shattered, ripping out some of the mounting with it. His stump bled profusely onto the floor as he cursed and threw slurs at Jesse.

Jesse laughed. “Shoddy piece of chrome you got there.” He looked over the Howler to me. “Hey, grab a cord. I don’t want him to bleed out.”

I turned to go find a cord, rope or just anything to make a tourniquet. The rats moved from my path save a few that squeaked indicating a specific drawer. I opened it up to see plenty of tools and a few nylon cords with buckles already in place. 

The Howler's incoherent shouting ceased. “What the fuck did you do to me, you damned trog?!” 

Jesse ignores him and looked up to me as I returned with the cord. “Mind doing the honors?”

I shook my head, I did not mind at all. I walked over to him and he stared directly at me. He clearly hadn't had a chance to look me over as I saw his eyes go wide with shock then narrow as he realized I was a human working with an ork. 

“This trog your boyfriend, bitch?” He spat at me, it landed on the floor. 

I grabbed the remnants of his augment's mounting. “Nah, not my type.l, he is a good friend though.” I pulled out the rest of the mounting making him scream. “Now you'll stay still while I put this on you or I'll rip out the bone next.”

He nodded weakly, his skin pale and covered in sweat. I cinched up the tourniquet tighter until the bleeding stopped. 

Jesse bent down in front of the Howler. “You ready to talk about what you were doing last night?”

He nodded.

Jesse put a hand on the Howler's shoulder. “There we go, now talk.”

“I was checking the place out to rob it.” His gaze drifted to the floor.

Jesse clicked his tongue. “Wrong answer. You see, I was nearby and heard something very different.” He leaned over and wrenched the blade that had been part of the Howler's arm out of the floor. “Something about marking down targets for some fun.” He lifted the blade up and slid it across the Howler's face drawing blood. “Want to try telling me what you were doing again?”

He was shaking. “The, the guys wanted me to find places that were poorly secured so we could-”

Jesse drove the blade into the Howler's thigh. “I know exactly what you pieces of trash were going to do.” He pulled out a phone from his pocket. “It's on your fucking phone!” He twisted the blade and left it there. “Here, Burnout, look at what this, this thing was planning.” He handed the phone to me.

I looked through the memos and data on it. It was disgusting, abhorrent. The Howlers were planning on assaulting a series of meta humans throughout the downtown area in a weeks time. There were pictures too. One of the photos was of the elf lady I helped escape Lone Star earlier. 

I exhaled and glanced at Jesse. “Is it okay that he knows my name?”

Jesse leaned in and whispered into my ear. “He's not leaving here in any state to tell anyone. You saw what he and his friends are planning.”

I nodded and handed the phone back. “Yea.”

“What are you two saying?!” He was even paler than before, his breathing was shallow too.

Jesse spread his arms wide. “Oh, just where to drop you off after we knock you out. Any last statements? Wanna call me a trog again?”

Hope flickered across his face. “You're gonna let me go?”

Jesse smiled as he twisted the blade, pulling it out then stabbing it into the Howler's other thigh. “No.” He removed the blade out and tossed it to the floor, the rats swarmed over it then looked to Jesse. “Lunch time, everyone.” He turned to me. “You don't have to watch this, feel free to take a seat in the living room.”

I shook my head and stared as the rats washed over the Howler while he screamed and begged. They bit and tore at his flesh. Blood fell to the floor as they continued to feast. Eventually he went silent and there was only the sound of rats gnawing and squeaking. 

“Anyhow, Burnout, the job I wanted to talk to you about is having you and the others run security for their targets, maybe see if Trix can narrow down who and where the other Howlers in this plan are then get to them first. I'll be paying out of pocket for this one.”

I tore my eyes from the writhing pile of rats to look at Jesse. “I can do that, yea. You don't have to pay me though.”

“Bullshit, you folks have to eat too.” He clapped me on the back. “Hey, let's get back to the apartment, don't need to watch them while they have their meal.” He walked past me and slung his jacket over his shoulder. 

We left the rats to their devices and went back to the rest of the apartment. He gave me a handkerchief for the blood. I began to clean it off as we sat down; him in a chair and me on his couch. 

Jesse furrowed his brow as he looked at me. “Sorry to change topics, but you look really different, Burnout, sound a little different too. What’s up?” 

I looked at my hands then up to him. “Uh, I’m not sure. I have been feeling rather strange since this morning.” I looked down at the floor causing a lock of dark hair to fall in front of my eyes. 

“You feeling okay?”

“Yea, honestly better than I have in a long time.” I finished cleaning my hands and rubbed the bridge of my nose. “Sorry, Jesse. I’m gonna head back for the day. Mind sending the rest of the info to Trix and Dust?”

He waved a hand. “Yea, for sure. I’ll talk to you later, Burnout.”

I stood up and left the apartment.


End file.
